


grey lines and love affairs

by neyvenger (jjjat3am)



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Comic-Con, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-30 13:37:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5165807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jjjat3am/pseuds/neyvenger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Marco is a comic book artist and Auba is a Batman fanboy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	grey lines and love affairs

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Imkerin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imkerin/gifts).



> I honestly need to learn how to resist comic artist AUs. I blame imkerin entirely for making me think about this. Actually, I'm pretty sure I dreamt this story.

Cons are always so boring when you’re there to promote yourself. Or at least that’s been Marco’s experience so far. His hand is starting to cramp up a bit from all the signing he’s been doing, which is kind of ridiculous since he’s drawn detailed full spread comics pages with less fatigue before.

 

There seems to be a lull in the people at the stand and after waving at a few departing fans, he slouches in his chair, inspecting the life-sized poster that’s been put behind him. He’s tempted to frown at it; it’s his character design and his art, but it always translates so poorly to big scale print like this, especially when it’s not intended for it. Still, it’s Batman. You could argue he’d be recognizable, no matter how bad the medium.

 

“Excuse me? Are you Marco Reus?”

 

Marco snaps out of his contemplation to focus on the person standing in front of his desk.

 

“Yeah?”

 

As he looks over the newcomer, he can feel his jaw slowly drop. He’s tall and athletic, with dark ripped up jeans and a yellow T-shirt. And he’s wearing sneakers with the Batman symbol on them. He’s also pretty much the prettiest person he’s seen all day. Maybe all month.

 

“Ah, I thought so! I know you’re doing the Batman promo, but could I ask you to sign this for me?”

 

He struggles with the multitude of volumes in his hands as Marco watches until he finally hands over the smallest one. Their fingers touch on the glossy page, but Marco barely has time to notice it.

 

“This is…how did you even get this?” The small volume he’s holding is one he hasn’t seen in a while, not since he’d been in university at least. It’d been his comic debut, published through a friend’s small indie publisher. It never sold. He’d been so incredibly proud of it back then; it almost crushed him that it did so poorly.

 

“In Paris, believe it or not,” the man grinned and Marco realized that his words came with the hint of an accent. “The owner of the shop couldn’t tell me where he got it. I always thought it was fate.”

 

“I seriously thought no one but my mother bought this. It didn’t really sell.”

 

“It’s a shame though. I loved your work on The Invisibles and Swamp Thing. But I really love this one best.” The man looks up, seemingly noticing the giant poster behind Marco. “And I love your work on Batman too! Your art really fits the new storyline.”

 

“You’re a Batman fan, too?” Marco tears his attention away from the faded pages. He’s already scrawled his signature there, but he almost doesn’t want to hand it over now, with how familiar it feels. Or maybe he just wants another excuse to talk to the other man.

 

“Just a little,” the man grins, turning his head so Marco can see the Bat symbol shaved into his hair.

 

“Shit, that’s really cool,” Marco says, awed. “What’s your name then? I can’t keep calling you Batman guy.”

 

“It’d be a cool nickname though. It’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang,” and before Marco can even begin to twist his mouth around unfamiliar syllables, he adds, “just call me Auba. Everyone does.”

 

“Auba,” Marco tests the name out loud and Auba smiles at him in turn. It lights up his whole face. Marco feels suddenly too hot. He holds out the comic in his hands before he can change his mind.

 

“That’s me,” Auba says, accepting the volume.

 

There’s a beat of quiet. In the background, a pack of Homestuck cosplayers runs from someone dressed in a Darth Vader suit. Someone’s Wonder Woman costume rips for the second time in the last hour.

 

Marco’s stomach growls. He looks down at it mournfully, then at the indifferent con person, who’s been scrolling on her iPhone for the last fifteen minutes.

 

“Hey,” Auba draws his attention again, “have you eaten?”

 

“Not really,” Marco sighs. “There was supposed to be something organized, but I guess not. Why, are you offering?”

 

He’s joking, mostly, but Auba’s eyes widen and he’s pretty sure he’s blushing, a little. It makes him look adorable, and shit, Marco is so far gone on this guy, he’s considering asking him to lunch anyway.

 

“I am if it isn’t weird for you. Is there a protocol, for when a famous comic book artist gets asked out by a fan?”

 

‘Asked out, huh?’ Marco is pretty sure it’s just a slip of the tongue, but it makes his palms sweat a little anyway.

 

“I’m hardly a famous comic book artist, though.” Marco stands up, swaying a little bit on his feet from sitting down for so long. He grabs his phone and his wallet, flicking his gaze to the con person assigned to him. They hardly seemed to have noticed he’s moved.

 

“So,” he turns to Auba, who’s smiling that smile that makes Marco’s heart pound, “where to?”

 

“The cafeteria is okay, I think? Unless you’d prefer something fancier?” He pulls his backpack off in one smooth motion, and puts all the comics inside it, carefully. It’s the weirdest backpack Marco’s ever seen, black and with spikes all over. It’d be weird on anyone else, but Auba and his Batman shoes pull it off perfectly. They start walking.

 

“Cafeteria is fine. Wasn’t too long ago since I was living on ramen every day.”

 

“Before DC came calling?”

 

“Yep. Now I can afford cafeteria food.”

 

They make small talk as they walk across the hall, dodging Batman cosplayers and sweaty young men clutching body pillows with ladies painted on them. It turns out that Auba is French, though his family is originally from Gabon, that he lives in London right now. He works in a bookstore and writes newspaper articles, and Marco is sure he’s walking way too close to him, close enough for their shoulders to brush, but he can’t really seem to stop. Auba doesn’t seem to mind either way.

 

It’s not until they’re comfortably settled in the cafeteria that Marco thinks to ask about the backpack.

 

“That’s a cool bag you’ve got there. Does it protect from thieves? What are you carrying around that’s so important?”

 

It’s the first time since they met that Auba looks hesitant, almost shy. It’s a contrast to the exuberance he’s shown so far and Marco almost wants to take it back.

 

“Just the comic books I bought. And my writing notebook.”

 

“I see,” Marco nods around a mouthful of rice. He’s protective of his sketchbook too. “What are you writing right now? If you want to share that is. No pressure.”

 

“Actually,” Auba bites his lip, “I wrote a Batman storyboard. That’s always been the goal, you know? To work on Batman.”

 

“Oh,” Marco says, considering. “Then, will you show me? I’d like to read it.”

 

“Are you sure?” Auba looks positively beside himself. “Ah, I don’t want you to think that’s why I invited you to lunch!”

 

“Why did you invite me for lunch?” Marco hopes he doesn’t look as nervous as he feels. He’s probably failing, judging by the way Auba’s eyes suddenly turn knowing.

 

“Honestly? I think you’re hot. And a great artist. And I want to know you better if you’ll let me.” Another one of those smiles. Bright. Heart-stopping.

 

“I was hoping you’d say that. Now, story, please?”

 

Auba pulls out the notebook and hands it over. It’s a Moleskine with an orange cover and Auba’s handwriting is very neat. Then Marco starts reading and everything else falls away.

 

When he finally tears his eyes away and sits back, he finds Auba watching him anxiously.

 

“Well?” Auba asks, twisting the napkin in his hands.

 

“It…it makes me want to draw,” Marco says and it’s true. His fingers are twitching in anticipation and he’s looking around for a pencil before he realizes he’s left his bag at the con booth.

 

“Really?” And then there’s the smile, full of joy and awe, and Marco has never wanted to kiss anyone as much as he wants to kiss this Batman fanboy with a gap between his front teeth.

 

“Yeah. Do you have a pen?”

 

Auba does, and he has some paper too, so Marco starts sketching, the dark lines forming under his fingertips, familiar and perfect, and Auba comes around the table to sit next to him, their elbows touching.

 

Marco sketches some rough panels, mentally substituting the gray for bright colors and sweeping visuals, in tune with the brighter re-imagining of Batman that Auba wrote about. After an hour (and when did an hour pass?), his hand starts cramping and Auba takes it carefully, massages the blood back into circulation, and gives him the courtesy of not laughing at the way he blushes. Marco’s hardly said a word while sketching, but Auba doesn’t seem to mind.

 

“I like watching you work,” he says, “it’s amazing. Are you sure you want to be drawing my story?”

 

“Yeah. I know someone at DC that’ll at least look at it. But I’m confident they’ll like it.”

 

Auba sparkles, for lack of a better word. Marco can’t help it. He kisses him.

 

They’re in the middle of a cafeteria in one of the biggest cons in the country, the air smells like chips and Axe body spray, but when Auba melts against him and kisses back, Marco doesn’t want to be anywhere else.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Notes!  
> I'm not really that fond of Batman honestly and all my DC experience is with Vertigo Publishings and Wonder Woman. I do know that I prefer the 'Batman, the super dad that adopts everyone and flirts with Superman' to Christopher Nolan's Batman (gritty realism and all), so what Auba wrote is more in line with the first.  
> The comics mentioned are The Invisibles, a gloriously trippy series by Grant Morrison that got me into comic books, and Swamp Thing, who has in the past worked with Batman. And with John Constantine, my other love.


End file.
